Amazon's 5 new Echo and Alexa devices (2026): prices, features and which to buy

Amazon announced five new Alexa devices on 28 October 2026: a redesigned Echo Show 16, a much more capable Echo Dot, an Echo Studio with a built-in camera, a bedside clock called Echo Time, and its first digital picture frame, the Alexa Photo Frame. It also previewed Alexa Home Map, a 3D view of your smart home. All of them are designed around Alexa+, Amazon’s new AI assistant, which is free with Prime.

Here’s what each one does, what it costs, and which is worth buying.

We haven’t used these devices yet. This guide is based on Amazon’s announcements and product listings, and we’ve flagged the catches. Prices and availability are for the US.

At a glance

Device	Price	Available	Best for
Echo Dot	$99.99 (Kids $109.99)	Now	Any room; doubles as a smart home hub
Echo Studio with Home Camera	$249.99	Now	Big sound, plus a camera that can see the room
Echo Time	$199.99 (Kids $209.99)	Now	The bedside table
Alexa Photo Frame	$199.99 ($229.99 in wood)	Now	Showing family photos; gifts
Echo Show 16	$499.99 ($569.99 Nanomatte)	Pre-order, $100 off; ships later this year	A wall-mounted family and smart home hub

Echo Dot: now a smart home hub and Wi-Fi extender

The new Echo Dot ($99.99) packs a lot more into the little sphere:

• A built-in smart home hub for the first time, supporting Zigbee, Matter and Thread, so it can run lights, locks and thermostats without a separate hub.
• A built-in eero Wi-Fi extender that Amazon says adds up to 1,000 square feet of coverage to your existing network.
• Better sound and hearing: 50% more bass than the last Dot, plus a fourth microphone and Amazon’s AZ3 chip with an AI accelerator to pick out your voice from background noise.
• Room sensing: it can detect temperature and whether someone’s in the room, which is useful for routines.
• Colours: Graphite, Glacier White, Agave Green and Coral Pink. The Kids Echo Dot ($109.99, in Octopus or Penguin designs) includes a year of Amazon Kids+.

The catch: $99.99 is double what the 2022 Echo Dot cost at launch. It’s good value if you’ll use the hub and Wi-Fi extender, and less so if you just want a kitchen timer and music.

Echo Studio with Home Camera: the best Echo speaker, now with eyes

The Echo Studio with Home Camera ($249.99) is Amazon’s best-sounding speaker with a 13MP camera added. The audio is the same: a high-excursion woofer, three full-range drivers, Dolby Atmos and automatic room tuning. What’s new is what Alexa+ can do with the camera:

• Show it things. Hold up a board game box and ask how to play, or show it a cereal box to reorder it.
• Check in on the room from the Alexa app while you’re out, with Live View.
• Video calls on your TV, coming soon: pair it with a compatible Fire TV and use the big screen for calls.

There’s a button that switches off the microphones and camera, and a light shows when the camera is streaming to the cloud. Amazon doesn’t mention a physical lens cover.

The catch: if you don’t want a camera in your living room, the regular Echo Studio is still sold for $219.99 with the same sound.

Echo Time: a smart alarm clock that tracks your sleep, without a camera

Echo Time ($199.99) is a spherical bedside clock with a 3.2-inch round touchscreen and hundreds of clock faces. The interesting part is its sleep sensing:

• No wearable needed. Using ultrasound to detect your breathing and how close you are, plus temperature and presence sensors, it can tell when you’re in lighter sleep and wake you within 10 to 60 minutes of your alarm at the best moment.
• Sunrise alarm: the screen gradually brightens and the alarm tone builds gently.
• Camera-free by design, which is what you want next to your bed.
• Certified: it has earned the National Sleep Foundation’s SleepMark.
• Colours: Graphite, Glacier White and Coral Pink; a stand costs $39.99. The Kids Echo Time ($209.99, Galactic Grape or Cosmic Lime) adds a year of Kids+, wind-down content from Calm, Headspace and Moshi, and parent-set sleep schedules.

The catch: $199.99 is a lot for an alarm clock. It’s worth it mainly if the smart wake-up appeals to you.

Alexa Photo Frame: Amazon’s first digital picture frame

The Alexa Photo Frame ($199.99, or $229.99 in birch or walnut) is a 10-inch anti-glare frame with Alexa built in. It syncs from Amazon Photos, picks your best shots, finds photos when you ask, and lets you add voice notes. It only works with Amazon Photos, can’t be wall-mounted and needs Prime for its clever features. Read our full Alexa Photo Frame guide for the details and alternatives.

Echo Show 16: a wall-mounted family hub with Fire TV built in

The Echo Show 16 ($499.99) is Amazon’s biggest change. It’s a 16-inch full HD display that’s nearly 40% thinner than before, with 10% more screen area and 20% more power.

• Screen Styles turn it into a family organiser (calendars, chores, meal plans), a photo frame, or a smart home dashboard.
• Fire TV built in, with a remote in the box.
• Amazon’s best Echo camera yet: 13MP wide-angle with auto-framing for calls, plus night vision for the first time, so you can check in with Live View after dark.
• Eight micro woofers and two tweeters for room-filling sound.
• Wall mount included, or add a stand ($69.99) or a swivel-and-tilt stand ($124.99).
• Nanomatte option ($569.99) cuts glare by more than 90%, which is handy in a bright kitchen.

The catches: it’s expensive, it doesn’t ship until later this year, and nobody has reviewed it yet. Pre-ordering saves $100, though, which brings the standard model to $399.99.

Alexa Home Map: your smart home in 3D

Amazon also previewed Alexa Home Map, an interactive 3D model of your home and property. Enter your address and the outside appears automatically; then scan each room with a compatible iPhone and place your devices. You can control lights, locks and thermostats right on the map. With compatible Ring cameras, it even animates people and cars outside, and it reflects the time of day and local weather.

It’s coming to larger Echo Shows (including the Echo Show 16), the Amazon Ember Artline TV, Amazon’s new Alexa Tablets and the Alexa and Ring apps, rolling out in preview later this year. Some features need a Ring subscription.

Which one should you buy?

• Just want one smart speaker? The Echo Dot. It’s also the cheapest way to add a smart home hub and better Wi-Fi.
• Want the best sound? The Echo Studio. Pay the extra $30 for the camera version only if you’ll actually use Live View or show Alexa things.
• For the bedroom? Echo Time. It’s camera-free and has the clever wake-up.
• For grandparents, or anyone who loves photos? The Alexa Photo Frame, if they’re on Prime and Amazon Photos.
• For the kitchen or hallway? The Echo Show 16 looks like the most ambitious of the lot. Pre-order for $100 off if you’re sure; otherwise wait for reviews, since it ships later this year anyway.

Deciding between Amazon and Apple? See our Echo vs Apple HomeView and HomePod mini 2 comparison.

About Alexa+: the smartest features on all five need Alexa+. It’s included with Prime; in the US, non-Prime households pay $19.99 a month for it.

What about India?

These are US launches, and Amazon hasn’t announced Indian prices or dates for any of them yet. Alexa+ itself is already rolling out in India through an Early Access programme that began on 16 September 2026, speaking English, Hindi and Hinglish. It’s free for everyone during Early Access; after that it stays free for Prime members and costs ₹2,000 a month for Prime Lite, Prime Shopping Edition and non-Prime customers. You can request access at amazon.in/alexaplus with a compatible Echo you already own. We’ll update this guide if the new models come to India.

The bottom line

This is Amazon’s most interesting Echo lineup in years. The Echo Dot is now a hub and Wi-Fi extender too, the Echo Studio can see the room, Echo Time tracks your sleep without a camera, and the Alexa Photo Frame is a genuinely lovely gift. For most people, the $99.99 Echo Dot is the one to buy. The Echo Show 16 could be the star, but it’s the one to wait for reviews on.